Deciding to Help. Refugee Reception Decision-Making. in Finland from the 1970s until the 2010s

Deciding to Help Refugee Reception Decision-Making in Finland from the 1970s until the 2010s Emma Kolu University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Political Science: Administration and Organizations Master's Degree Programme in Ethnic Relations, Cultural Diversity and Integration Master s Thesis / Pro gradu May 2017

Tiedekunta/Osasto Fakultet/Sektion Faculty Laitos Institution Department Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Political and Economic Studies Tekijä Författare Author Emma Kolu Työn nimi Arbetets titel Title Deciding to Help: Refugee Reception Decision-Making in Finland from the 1970s until the 2010s Oppiaine Läroämne Subject Political Science Työn laji Arbetets art Level Master's Thesis Tiivistelmä Referat Abstract Aika Datum Month and year May 2017 Sivumäärä Sidoantal Number of pages 101 Concerning immigration and refugee issues, in politics, media and research, often the focus seems to be from an administrational point of view only the asylum process. However, especially in administration, refugee reception does not end in asylum decisions. This study examines organizational decision-making and public policy formation in the case of Finnish refugee reception, after granted residence permits. Instead of political decision-making, the focus is on how the issue is dealt with before authoritative politics, on the ministry level. The particular interest is municipal refugee resettlement, complemented with questions of ministry division of labor and connections between administrational and political levels, which emerged during the analysis. The time perspective is from the 1970s, the start of modern refugee reception, until today. The theoretical background is in the bounded rationality paradigm of organizational decision-making theories. The framework is more specifically a combination of the garbage can theory by Cohen, March and Olsen, and the agendas and alternatives approach to policy formation processes by Kingdon. The study analyses general development and 11 decision situations more closely. The ministry level documents of these situations are analyzed through interpretive content analysis, with coding and a strive to thick analysis. Based on the theories, load, effectivity, access structure, participation, agenda and the problems and solutions are looked at. After reflecting the streams and structures of this considered organized anarchy, it is concluded, that the long-term development path of refugee reception administration can not be seen as a classically rational and efficient progress, but more of a coincidental, chaotic and stalled process. Changes either go back and forth, like the responsible ministry, or stay very still, like the municipal resettlement compensation system. Even though solutions claimed to address problems and despite decisions, many problems persisted and resurfaced often. Decision-making is not only an activity of solving problems, but a collection of separate streams. There were problems looking for solutions and decision situations, but also decision situations looking for problems and solutions, and solutions looking for situations and problems. According to this analysis the process and outcomes are affected by features, such as context, load and structures. The theoretical background provided suitable concepts and definitions to examine this type of ambiguous policy field, with multiple actors, problems and solutions, and complex relations to politics. The strength of this framework is especially in distinguishing elements. Avainsanat Nyckelord Keywords Refugees, refugee resettlement, administration, garbage can, bounded rationality, decision-making

Tiedekunta/Osasto Fakultet/Sektion Faculty Laitos Institution Department Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Politiikan ja talouden tutkimuksen laitos Tekijä Författare Author Emma Kolu Työn nimi Arbetets titel Title Deciding to Help: Refugee Reception Decision-Making in Finland from the 1970s until the 2010s Oppiaine Läroämne Subject Yleinen valtio-oppi Työn laji Arbetets art Level Pro Gradu Tiivistelmä Referat Abstract Aika Datum Month and year Toukokuu 2017 Sivumäärä Sidoantal Number of pages 101 Hallinnolliset maahanmuutto- ja pakolaiskysymykset politiikassa, mediassa ja tutkimuksessa, rajautuvat usein turvapaikkaprosessiin. Erityisesti hallinnollisesti, pakolaisten vastaanotto ei kuitenkaan pääty turvapaikkapäätöksiin. Tämä tutkimus perehtyy päätöksentekoon ja politiikan muotoutumiseen, empiirisenä tapauksenaan pakolaisten vastaanottojärjestelmä Suomessa. Poliittisen päätöksenteon sijaan, keskiössä on ministeritason toiminta. Erityisenä kysymyksenä käsitellään kunnallista pakolaisten vastaanottoa sekä ministeriötyönjakoa ja hallinnollisen ja poliittisen tason yhtymäkohtia, jotka nousivat esiin tutkimustyön aikana. Tutkimus alkaa 70-luvulta, nykyaikaisen pakolaisten vastaanoton alusta, ja päätyy nykypäivään. Taustana ovat rajoitettu rationaalisuus -teoriat, tarkemmin yhdistetty kehys teorioista garbage can sekä John W. Kingdonin agendat ja vaihtoehdot. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan yleistä kehitystä sekä 11 päätöstilaisuutta tarkemmin. Ministeritason dokumentit näistä tilanteista analysoitiin tulkitsevalla sisältöanalyysilla, koodauksen avulla. Teoriataustaan perustuen, rasite, tehokkuus, rakenne, osallistuminen, agenda sekä ongelmat ja ratkaisut ovat tarkastelun kohteena. Tutkimuksen tuloksina todetaan, että pitkän tähtäimen kehitys pakolaisten vastaanoton hallinnossa Suomessa ei ole klassisessa mielessä rationaalinen tai tehokas, vaan satunnainen, kaoottinen ja toisaalta pysähtynyt prosessi. Muutoksia tehdään joko edestakaisin, kuten vastuuministeriön osalta, tai niitä ei tehdä lainkaan, kuten kunnallisen vastaanoton korvausten tapauksessa. Vaikka ratkaisujen väitetään liittyvän esitettyihin ongelmiin ja vaikka päätöksiä tehdään, monet ongelmat säilyivät ja esiintyivät usein materiaalissa. Päätöksenteko ei ollut vain ongelmien ratkaisua, vaan kokoelma erillisiä virtoja, streams. Ongelmat etsivät ratkaisuja ja päätöstilaisuuksia, mutta myös tilaisuudet etsivät ongelmia ja ratkaisuja sekä ratkaisut tilanteita ja ongelmia. Analyysin mukaan, prosessi ja tulokset riippuvat kunkin tutkitun tilanteen ominaisuuksista, kuten kontekstista ja rakenteista, kuten teoriatausta esittää. Teoreettinen tausta toi tutkimukseen sopivia konsepteja ja määritelmiä monimutkaisen prosessin analysointiin. Teoriakehyksen vahvuus oli erityisesti elementtien erillisessä tarkastelussa. Avainsanat Nyckelord Keywords Pakolaiset, pakolaisten vastaanotto, hallinto, garbage can, bounded rationality, rajattu rationaalisuus, päätöksenteko

Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Context of the Study 3 2.1 Short Introduction to Finland 3 2.2 Definition: Refugee 4 2.3 Refugee History in Finland 6 2.4 Refugee Reception Research in Finland and Sweden 9 3 Theoretical Background of Organizational Decision-Making 13 3.1 Challenging Rationality in Decision-Making 13 3.2 Building on Simon and March: Theory Development 15 3.3 The Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice 16 3.3.1 Organized Anarchies 17 3.3.2 The Garbage Can 18 3.3.3 Streams in an Organization 18 3.3.4 Organizational Structures 19 3.3.5 Other Components of the Model 20 3.3.6 Features of a Garbage Can Process 21 3.4 Application and Criticism 23 3.5 Kingdon s Agenda and Alternatives 25 4 Methodology and Material 27 4.1 Methods: Qualitative and Interpretive Research 28 4.1.1 Thick Analysis and Coding 30 4.1.2 Content Analysis Questions 32 4.2 Introduction of the Material 33 4.3 Operationalization of the Theoretical Background 35 5 Case Analysis: Refugee Reception Decision-Making in Finland 37 5.1 Decision Situations from the 1970s to 1989 37

5.1.1 General Development until 1989 37 5.1.2 1979: Report by the Commission for Refugee Issues 40 5.1.3 1980: Committee Report by the Refugee Commission 42 5.1.4 1987: Refugee Center Administration Working Group Memo 44 5.1.5 1988: Committee Report by the Immigration Advisory Board 46 5.2 Decision Situations from 1990 to 1999 48 5.2.1 General Development during the 1990s 48 5.2.2 1992: Draft for a Law on the Reception of Refugees 50 5.2.3 1997: Committee Report by the Commission for Immigration 54 5.3 Decision Situations from 2000 to 2010 59 5.3.1 General Development from 2000 to 2010 59 5.3.2 2006: Strategy for Developing Immigration Administration 60 5.3.3 2008: Immigration Administration Development 62 5.3.4 2010: National Strategy of Refugee Resettlement in Municipalities 65 5.4 Decision Situations from 2011 onwards 68 5.4.1 General Development since 2011 68 5.4.2 2012: Government Integration Programme 71 5.4.3 2016: Government Integration Programme 74 6 Reflection 76 Table 1a 76 Table 1b 77 6.1 Reflection on the Streams 78 6.1.1 The Stream of Problems 78 6.1.2 The Stream of Solutions 79 6.1.3 The Stream of Participants 83 6.1.4 The Stream of Decision Situations 85 6.2 Reflection on the Influence of Structures and Context 86 6.2.1 Structures in the 1970s 86 6.2.2 Structures in the 1980s 87 6.2.3 Structures in the 1990s 88 6.2.4 Structures in the 2000s 90

6.2.5 Structures since 2011 92 6.3 Reflection on the Features of a Garbage Can Process 93 6.3.1 Preconditions of the Garbage Can Process 94 6.3.2 Features of the Garbage Can Process 95 6.4 Reflections on the Study 97 7 Conclusions and Discussion 99 Resources Laws, Decrees, Directives and Government Proposals Newspaper Articles Webpages Appendix Appendix 1: Abbreviations and Acronyms

1 Introduction Immigration and refugee issues are today central in societies, both nationally and internationally. In politics, media and research, often the focus seems to be asylum seekers, and from an administrational point of view the asylum process. However, especially in administration, refugee reception does not end in asylum decisions. The story of refugees expands from their journies and international complexities to issues in receiving countries, such as deportations, family reunification and integration. All aspects could and should be studied, but this work focuses on national level decision-making on refugee reception, after granted residence permits. Even though immigration is a booming field, increasingly multi- and interdisciplinary, academic research on refugee reception administration has remained scarce. The focus still seems to be on other views, such as politics, media or sociology. Especially connections to existing theories in public sector administration or policy formation processes are thin, even though administration is generally in the core of refugee issues, in any country. The first refugees were welcomed to Finland in the 1970s, and though varying in volume, reception has continued ever since. My interest is the development of administration throughout these years. The Finnish system of refugee reception, including state level coordination and execution by local authorities, is rather particular. Investigating its development could still be useful for other countries or issues. I became interested, when newspapers (see e.g. YLE, 2013) declared that municipalities were not resettling enough refugees, compared to the increased numbers of asylum seekers and the urgent needs of quota refugees, deepened for example by the situation in Syria. Political and public interest in these obvious problems seemed limited, especially compared to many other immigration issues. This thesis examines organizational decision-making and public policy formation in the case of Finnish refugee reception. Instead of political decision-making by the government or parliament, I study predecision processes : how the issue is dealt with before, and sometimes during or after, authoritative political decisions, such as 1

legislation (term from Kingdon, 1984, p. 1). Political developments are mentioned, but the focus is on the ministry level, national decision-making, distinguished also from local municipal decisions. According to the theory by Kingdon (1984), this type of policy (in contrast to political ) decision-making is occupied especially with specifying alternatives, identifying and framing problems and creating proposals. The particular interest of the case study is municipal refugee resettlement. The time perspective is from the 1970s, the start of modern refugee reception, until today with a look into the future. This thesis aims to contribute to Finnish refugee, immigration, public sector, policy process and decision-making research, and its linkages to international research, by answering these questions: How has the issue of municipal refugee resettlement been dealt with in Finland? What kind of features has the national level decision-making on refugee reception had in general? The study relies on organizational decision-making process theories, specifically the bounded rationality paradigm; challenging the idea of comprehensively rational decision-making and decision-makers. The work utilizes a garbage can framework combined with some aspects from the policy formation theory on agendas and alternatives by John W. Kingdon. Understanding decision-making is considered to be the core of understanding organizational action and its outcomes, as this theoretical background suggests. Another presumption adopted from these theories is that everything is contextual; circumstances and interpretations are essential. The case is studied through official documents representing national refugee reception decision-making, analyzed with interpretive content analysis. Because of its stressed importance, the next chapter focuses on context. Chapter three elaborates the theoretical background. Chapter four introduces the methodology, material and operationalization of the theory. Chapter five presents the case analysis, chronologically. The analysis is reflected in chapter six, connecting the empirical with the theoretical. The last chapter is devoted to conclusions and some final discussion. 2

2 Context of the Study This chapter elaborates general context of the study. The first section briefly introduces some relevant features of the Finnish political and administrational system, especially considering potential foreign readers. Thereafter, definitions and some general international information on refugees is given. The third part revises Finnish history with refugees, and lastly some previous research from Finland and Sweden is looked at. 2.1 Short Introduction to Finland Even though the theoretical framework has been utilized also in other contexts, it originates from the United States. Therefore it seems useful to shortly note some general differences between the political and administrational systems of Finland and the US. Finland is an unitary republic, previously semi-presidential with a dual leadership model, but today categorized as parliamentary (a history mapped by Nousiainen, 2001). Despite the historical time perspective, the role of the president is not covered in this work, because of the administrational focus. Also the parliament is mainly excluded. However, the ministry level perspective makes the role of the government central. The parliamentary unicameral system of Finland has less veto possibilities than the US, creating a less hazardous passage for policy formation (Greer, 2015, p. 419). Another differentiating feature is the multi-party system. For example currently the parliament includes eight parties, the first three forming the government (shortly named): the Centre, the Finns, National Coalition, Social Democrats, the Greens, the Left Alliance, Swedish People s Party and Christian Democrats. Nevertheless, the political system has been defined consensual (see e.g. Vesa, 2013; Arter, 1987). The relation between the state and the local governing level, municipalities, is central in refugee reception. By constitution, Finnish municipalities have wide self-government and economic autonomy, more precisely governed by the law on municipalities (Kuntalaki 410/2015). Most public services are organized by municipalities, even though today there are many variations of local or regional service production. Self-government is based on financial and organizational separation from the state, even 3

though municipalities simultaneously depend on state steering. Economic autonomy is based on collecting municipal taxes, but there are limited possibilities to increase tax revenue. In financial decision-making, autonomy is limited by resident rights and central government transfer legislation. Municipalities have statutory responsibilities, but also possibilities for prioritizing and choosing voluntary functions. The balance of self-government and inequalities between municipalities is challenging. EU membership since 1995 tightened the economic relationship between state and municipalities, and has directly and indirectly unified municipal practices. The state provides legal frames for municipal functions and affects economic prerequisites. State steering and monitoring are based on norms, resources and information. Steering is however scattered to different sectors and there are also other influential actors, like the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. The balance of municipal responsibilities and funding creates tension in the relationship between the state and municipalities. Even under financial strains, municipalities are required to fulfill their statutory responsibilities, and state compensation for new or changed tasks is often deemed insufficient by the municipalities. The role of the state both setting and financing the responsibilities is contested. The line between state and municipal tasks has been blurring and negotiations have become increasingly binding. In spring 2017, a health, social services and regional government reform is in the legislation process. In the beginning of 2019, new 18 counties, with many currently municipal functions and regionally elected representatives, should start their work. The reform will affect the relations of state and local and regional authorities greatly. (Mänttäri, 2012, p. 169-171; in English see Kroger, 1996; alueuudistus.fi, 2017; suomi.fi, 2017) 2.2 Definition: Refugee The word refugee is often used without a clear definition, creating confusion and misunderstanding. The United Nations provided the original legal definition, but in this thesis a wider one is used. Here, refugee refers to anyone, who has received a residence permit in Finland based on international protection. There are more than 65 million people living in forced displacement in the world today, for the first time since World War II, which lead to the creation of international refugee 4

agreements (UNHCR, 2016). Originally the international refugee system was created to provide possibilities and responsibilities to offer protection to people under prosecution in their own country. The system was considered temporary, but demand persisted. Today the system faces different challenges, but the basis has remained the same. Through the 1951 convention on refugees and the 1967 protocol, UN only considers as refugees people, who are granted asylum based on personal prosecution: unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion (UNHCR, 2010). The definition excludes for example people fleeing from a conflict. In many countries, including Finland, there are also other possibilities to receive international protection, even though all people seeking international protection seek asylum. Finnish officials decide if an asylum seeker fits the UN definition and receives asylum. People chosen to the Finnish refugee quota, and their close family members, are also considered refugees by the UN definition. In this thesis, the term refugee includes all people under international protection in Finland. They have received asylum, subsidiary protection (since 2004 in the current form) or humanitarian protection (used until May 2016). Subsidiary protection is a status based on the EU Asylum Qualification Directive (2004), which can be granted if a person is in danger of death penalty, execution, torture or other treatment or punishment that is inhuman or violates human dignity in your home country. Humanitarian protection was a Finnish addition, but seldom used and deleted in 2016. Humanitarian protection could be granted based on an environmental catastrophe or a poor security situation, such as armed conflict. Also other reasons for granting a residence permit to an asylum seeker are individually evaluated. In 2014, asylum seekers were granted about 500 residence permits based on asylum, 500 based on subsidiary protection, about 350 for other reasons and only 4 by humanitarian protection. Simultaneously, 1030 people were accepted in the Finnish refugee quota of 1050 people. In 2015, there was a significant increase in asylum applications and restrictions for international protection were set. (Migri, 2017a; Migri, 2017b; Migri, 20.10.2015; Migri, 17.5.2016) 5

After receiving residence permits, people are treated the same, for example in municipalities and integration services, regardless of the type of international protection they receive. Therefore, it is useful here to use the term refugee for all. It should be noted, that the terms asylum seeker and immigrant are not synonymous to refugee. This work focuses on people, who have been granted international protection, not those seeking asylum or immigrating to Finland on other grounds. However, if relevant and not otherwise distinguished, the group immigrants includes refugees. Quota refugees usually reside in refugee camps or other temporary housing, unable to return home, before entering Finland. After being assessed refugees by the UN (more specifically the UNHCR), they may be selected to move to a country with a determined refugee quota. Refugee reception is worded in many ways in both English and Finnish. What this work mainly refers to as refugee reception (in Finnish vastaanotto), may also be called for example settlement or resettlement (asuttaminen, asettuminen), placement (sijoittaminen), accommodation (majoittaminen) or integration (integroituminen, sopeutuminen or kotoutuminen, from the refugee point of view, or kotouttaminen, from the view of the officials), also terms moving (muutto) or relocating (siirtyminen) are sometimes used. The analyzed material includes different terms, which sometimes reflects on the analysis as well. The interest of this work is the state coordinated action of refugee reception, and therefore the definition does not usually include for example practical service production, usually done by municipalities. 2.3 Refugee History in Finland Independant Finland has always been a transit-country for refugees, most returning home or moving to other countries after a while. After the 1917 Russian revolution and during the 1930s from German occupied areas, thousands of refugees came to Finland (Niemelä, 1980, p. 4; Rinne, 1989, p. 30; Sana, 2004). Ingrian and Eastern Karelian people, with cultural and language connections to the country, started coming to Finland around 1920, even though the biggest immigration happened during the Continuation War in 1942-1943 (Niemelä, 1980, p. 4). The transfers of tens of thousands were explained by an aspiration to round up Finnish peoples and later by shortage of labour (Niemelä, 1980, p. 4). Since 1919, multiple organizations worked with refugee 6

reception, until in 1922 the national responsibility was delegated to a state refugee help center (Pakolaisavustuskeskus) under the Interior Ministry, and in 1949 transferred to the Ministry of Social Affairs (Niemelä, 1980, p. 5-6). The center was abolished in 1955, after which no permanently responsible authority was determined, but the Ministry of Labour was responsible if necessary (Niemelä, 1980, p. 6). Possibly the idea was, that refugees were an issue of the past; like the international community also considered. Ingrians were employed quite well, attitudes towards them were generally positive, and when criticism was expressed, it was opressed by censorship (Niemelä, 1980, p. 5 quoting Väinämö 1979a). In 1970, an Immigration advisory board was appointed under the Ministry of Labour, and in 1972, they published their first report and action propositions, but at the time, the focus was on return migration and emigrated Finns, rather than refugee or even labour immigration issues. Even though legislation recognized asylum already in the 1930s, modern active refugee reception started with a group of political refugees from Chile in 1973 (Pehkonen, 2006, p. 14). After a military coup, 182 refugees (mainly Chileans but also people from e.g. Bolivia who had fled to Chile) came to Finland (Niemelä, 1980). The Chile situation was noted in the media, and many actors such as labor unions and university people (as well as the UN, and a delegation from Chile) called attention to it, eventually causing the government to agree to refugee reception (Rinne, 1989, p. 36). Because of a quick start, administration or other frames for reception were not ready, and time and resources were very limited; a participant said they had to start on nothing (Rinne, 1989, p. 36). No long-term strategies or systems were set, problems were solved when faced and Sweden was looked at for possible answers (Laiho, 2008, p. 8-9). Even though Finland joined the UN refugee convention in 1969, legislation was not yet changed accordingly (Rinne, 1989, p. 36). Previous research has stated, that refugee reception was started based on humanitarianism and solidarity, affected by the pleas of the UN, and a will to cooperate and activate in the international arena (see e.g. Laiho, 2008, p. 10). This humanitarian background, instead of for example focusing on labor force, is still visible today, especially in the general respect for the refugee quota, which is not internationally 7

common (Laiho, 2008). The principles of reception were adopted from the UN: sharing responsibility internationally, if refugees could not be helped in the areas of origin. Small-scale reception with continuity was strived for, and the intention was to accommodate groups from the same areas and cultures, to facilitate integration (Laiho, 2008, p. 11). Assimilation was never a goal for Finnish refugee policies; integration, preservation of one s own culture and cooperation with other ethnic groups, was considered desirable already with the first refugees (Niemelä, 1980, p. 13). Integration was also considered to be the goal for most refugees themselves, especially political people: they wanted to work and live in the country, keep their own culture, traditions and language strong, and eventually return (Niemelä, 1980, p. 13). In 1970, Finland had less foreigners than any other European country, only 0,1 per cent, while for example Sweden had five (Niemelä, 1980, p. 22). It was assumed that refugees would eventually (want to) move away from Finland, and the country would remain a transit-area rather than a melting-pot (Laiho, 2008, p. 12). Adaptation was considered difficult, for example, in an UN speech in 1979, Foreign Minister Paavo Väyrynen stated that Finnish climatic and other special features would cause undoubtedly special adaptation difficulties, especially for Southeast Asian refugees (Rinne, 1989, p. 60). Solidarity, and the bonuses of internationalization and possible labour force increases, was balanced with the considered capacity of Finland: small groups were justified, because reception and integration efforts should be well executed (Laiho, 2008, p. 12). It was important, that even though refugees were supported and guided on arrival, they would be treated like other Finnish public service users (Laiho, 2008, p. 12). Learning to use the same services was considered a fundamental part of integration. This idea is the cornerstone of municipal refugee reception. If refugees are to be treated like Finnish citizens, a home municipality and local service production is also necessary for them. It was also discussed, that Finnish citizens would also need to adjust to refugees (Laiho, 2008, p. 13). Acquainting Finnish people as much as possible to foreigners and refugees, has probably also influenced the status of local refugee reception and geographical decentralization in reception. 8

2.4 Refugee Reception Research in Finland and Sweden In Finland, academic research on refugee reception was for a long time narrow and based on individual researchers (Martikainen, 2009, p. 2; ESN, 2004, p. 18). Today, the general research field labeled ethnic relations and international migration is wide, and gradually more multi- and interdisciplinary (Martikainen, 2009, p. 2). A number of Finnish research has concentrated on services for refugees or asylum seekers (e.g. Purokoski, 1994; Lukkaroinen, 2005), integration (e.g. Mero 1998, Valtonen 1999, Wahlbeck 1992; Pehkonen, 2006; Tähti, 2008) and other issues related to the lives of refugees after reception, such as health (e.g. Liebkind, 1990; Kyrönseppä et al, 1993, Hassinen-Ali-Azzan, 2002). Viewpoints of Finnish citizens and service providers have been researched (Hämäläinen-Kebede, 2003; Taavela, 1999), but also refugee viewpoints have been taken into consideration (e.g. Räty & Saari, 1997; Pentikäinen, 2005; Jokisaari, 2006), as well as the relations between the refugees and officials (Turtiainen, 2012). Immigration politics, public discussions and opinions have also been researched (e.g. Lindström, 2012; Lepola, 2000; Jaakkola, 1995; Salmio, 2000; Haapalehto, 2005). Most research has focused on a specific case or issue, wider looks into refugee reception, or the public administration around it, are harder to find. The first research listing of migration issues was made in 1978, when only migration of Finnish people was researched (Ojala et al., 2015, p. 4). In the 1990s and 2000s, the focus moved to ethnic issues and foreigner immigration (Ojala et al., 2015, p. 5). Between 1999 and 2004, 1.8 per cent of immigration research concerned authoritative operation, reception system and governance procedures (etc), while in comparison, legal issues covered 0.7 per cent, politics 3.9, employment related issues 8.9 and integration, identity and similar issues 20.2 per cent, most by far (ESN, 2004, p. 6). According to these calculations, most research was sociological (19.1 per cent) or historical (11.7), while political science constituted only 2.1 per cent (ESN, 2004, p. 6). Most research has been text or interview based qualitative case research (Martikainen, 2009, p. 3). Theoretical research on migration issues has been limited, and is needed both on a larger scale as well as in more specific areas (ESN, 2004, p. 7). Research results, especially compared with the information demands, have been considered modest (ESN, 2004, p. 9

21). This background shows the need for the type of research conducted here. The further introduction of previous research is limited to especially relevant ones. In her thesis, Laiho (2008) mapped Finnish quota refugee politics from 1973 to 2007. In 2006, the quota refugee system gained public attention and criticism, due to opinion differences in ministries and poor political planning, which led Laiho to the topic. Later, the discussion expanded to local refugee reception questions, which led to my interest. Laiho uses immigration laws, government and ministry statements and strategies as well as parliament and newspaper discussions and three public servant interviews. There is no significant theoretical background and the results are more descriptive than interpretive, but the subject has not been extensively researched before, and Laiho s work is very helpful for this one. In Laiho s research it becomes evident, that quota refugee policies are a part of a much larger ensemble, and influenced by several features including international actors, officials, economic situations and public opinions. In a social work licentiate thesis, Kurtti (2010) researched immigrant integration programmes, obligatory for refugee reception, by 22 municipalities. Her conclusion was, that municipalities showed multicultural, economic and social objectives, but common strategies or policies were not formed. Already in 1997, even though focused on cross-cultural encounters, Matinheikki-Kokko researched the principles and practices of refugee resettlement in Finland. She stated that multicultural policy to pursue integration was adopted, but the responsibility of realizing it was transferred to municipal employees rather than the national level, with municipalities showing varying capabilities for execution (for basic information on integration, relatedly assimilation and acculturation, and multiculturalism theories see e.g. Pehkonen, 2006, p. 24). These studies show, that there is need for further research, combined with suitable theories. The local refugee reception system per se has not received much academic attention in Finland. In her licentiate thesis, Ahlgren-Leinvuo (2005) researched refugee moving patterns after municipal resettlement, based on statistics and interviews with municipal officials. She concluded, that local refugee reception fails to provide the proposed benefits for municipalities, because most accommodated refugees move to bigger municipalities, usually the largest cities, within three years. Also Kokko (2002) 10

researched migrant moving patterns, and concluded immigrants mostly move to new municipalities to be closer to families, friends or their ethnic group. Both Kokko and Ahlgren-Leinvuo state, that this type of research has been conducted more in Sweden, where a decentralization strategy was also in place, and the pattern of refugees relocating to larger cities after the original placement has also been evident. In Sweden, more research on refugee reception and even administration has been made. Swedish research is especially relevant, because the system is very similar to the Finnish one. This stems from a generally similar ( Nordic welfare ) state structure, historical connections and the fact that in this public sector area, as well as in many others, Swedish decisions and experiences have had significant impact on Finnish development (see e.g. Laiho 2008, p. 8; 11). Sweden has a longer history and a larger scale of refugee reception, reflected in the research field. Research on administration development or with a significant social science theory framework still seems limited. Kadhim (1999) has looked at the organizational structure, networks and policy implementation in Swedish municipalities concerning refugee reception, through a case study of Umeå municipality. The study concludes, that there have been no clear goals, criteria or steering mechanisms for refugee reception action on either state or municipal level (Kadhim, 1999, p. 51). Political interest was limited, decisions were made on the grass-root level, and the problems between the state and municipal autonomy were constantly evident (Kadhim, 1999, p. 52). Change and reorganization was permanently ongoing, reasoned with a strive to more effectivity (Kadhim, 1999, p. 52). Sarstrand Marekovic (2012) accounts for the development of the Swedish local reception system from the 1960s, based on eight municipal case studies, and concludes, that officials struggle for example with responsibility issues and direction of action. Andersson and Vassberg (2008) analyse how variables, such as average income, unemployment, age distribution and political majority, affect municipal refugee reception. They conclude through regression analysis, that the proportion of foreigners living in the municipality considerably impacts the amount of resettled refugees. Average income and a non-socialist political majority affect reception negatively, increased unemployment decreases reception and a shortage of housing affects slightly negatively. They also look 11

at some previous Swedish studies, which have concluded that in fact economic factors do not affect refugee reception, even though municipalities themselves explain scarce reception with insufficient resources, mainly in housing or services (this is also the case in Finland, see e.g. SM, 2010a). These studies also show that economic and political power relations between municipalities and the state affect refugee reception (Andersson & Vasseberg, 2007, p. 14). In her licentiate thesis, Bengtsson (2002) analyzes the interdependence and power balance between state and municipalities in refugee reception. She underlines the basic paradox in refugee reception: the central government grants refugee residence permits, but is unable to provide refugees with an actual place to live, without the acceptance of a local government. This acceptance is accomplished through voluntary agreements, which can be problematic. Municipalities integrate refugees in practice to the Swedish society by providing for example housing, education and healthcare services, and the central government seeks to compensate the expenses. Bengtsson studies the resources available to both negotiating parties and concludes, that the state has financial resources, but lacks political, informational and authority resources, while the municipalities hold organizational resources. The state can influence its vulnerability and sensitivity in the negotiations through economy, but since the municipalities hold other resources than the state, the relation is an interdependent one. (Bengtsson, 2002) This type of refugee reception research hopefully spills over from Sweden to Finland, and develops in both countries. These few examples show, that refugee reception can and should be researched also with significant theoretical frameworks, connecting them to other research fields. In conclusion, this research review also shows, that some of the interesting features in refugee reception include the structure of the reception organization, the relations between the actors, the network and complexities in and around reception, responsibility issues and argumentation, to name a few. The next chapter introduces a theoretical framework, which should be suitable for studying this type of complex policy process phenomenon. 12

3 Theoretical Background of Organizational Decision-Making To answer the research questions and approach the complex process, organizational decision-making theories are explored. The development of theories is shortly viewed, starting from challenging traditionally rational decision-making models in economic and organizational research. Main paradigms are shortly presented and the garbage can of organizational choice theory is focused on: general composition, some applications and criticism. In the end, a theory utilizing the garbage can in policy formation research is looked at. A combination of these theories, focused on process and organization complexity, form the frame for this study, operationalized in the next chapter. 3.1 Challenging Rationality in Decision-Making The start of organizational decision-making theories, questioning classical rationality (i.e. utility maximization) theories, is considered to be in the work of political scientist Herbert A. Simon. Simon criticized existing administrative theories and brought the idea of limited human rationality into decision-making research. Simon worked in the Carnegie Institute of Technology, often in collaboration with others working on similar ideas also later, such as March and Cyert (March & Simon, 1958, p. v-vi). His book Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization from 1947, is considered a classic not only Simon s original field economics, but also administration, public policy and political science (Mintrom, 2016). Simon and the rest of the Carnegie school, especially March, lifted decision-making to the core of understanding administration and organizations; they saw decision-making as much a part of the organizational activity as the actual doing (Mintrom 2016; Short, 1947). Simon created the conceptual framework for this type of administrational research (Mintrom, 2016, p. 10). Simultaneously, Simon brought psychological elements into administrational (as well as e.g. economic) science and promoted acknowledging the limits of rationality (Mintrom, 2016). Simon challenged the idea of globally rational choice, presented in economic and administrational theories until then. Elaborating his ideas in an article, Simon (1955) 13

considered his work of a limited or approximate rationality a stepping stone between psychology and economic or administrational theories. The work brought decision-making theories closer to real choice situations, humans with limited knowledge and ability, and actual behaviour in organizations. The goal of his work was to define rational choice in a way, that resembles more the actual decision processes, observed in empirical studies, than for example game-theoretical and economic probability models. (Simon, 1955, p. 113-114). Previous theories had assumed for example, that decisions are made with fixed preferences, ample skills and resources to evaluate and calculate pay-off, and other aspects of alternatives, all of which are available, while not having room for unanticipated consequences or incomparability (Simon, 1955, p. 99, 103-104). Simon (1955, p. 103) proposed, that rational behavior of decision-makers is limited by their access to information and capabilities. Instead of always maximizing profits and profoundly going through all options, decision-makers sometimes settle, which might even prove efficient (decision-making) for the organization (Mintrom, 2016, p. 3). According to Simon, decision-making includes both bounded and intended rationality, where participants wish to do better choices and achieve better outcomes (Mintrom, 2016, p. 3-4). Simon claimed that organizational structures affect decision-making and compensate humane psychological and other limitations, by constructing and controlling the environment (Mintrom, 2016, p. 4). The elements of steering towards more rational decision-making include equalizing expectations, setting boundaries for behavior and directing participant attention (Mintrom, 2016, p. 4). Simon discussed the importance of interaction and communication in achieving common goals, and the effects of participant identification, instead of mere command and control (Mintrom, 2016, p. 6). Simon promoted a contextualized approach: decision-making being both limited and steered by different factors, even if still being rational, in a (non-traditional) sense. As Simon intended (1955, p. 114), his paper became significant material for theory building on decision-making in organizations, and more generally. Even though Simon stated a need for more empirical knowledge for his propositions at the time (Simon, 1955, p. 99-100; Mintrom, 2016, p. 2), also empirical knowledge on the decision-making processes he modelled has been accumulated over the last decades. 14

3.2 Building on Simon and March: Theory Development During the latter half of the 20th century, organizational decision-making and policy process theories, based on questioned participant rationality, developed remarkably. This paradigm of bounded rationality has included many variations and applications. Building on Simon s work, Charles E. Lindblom established incrementalism : political actors favoring stability and focusing on modest, gradual changes, because they battle information, capability and attention limitations and avoid risks (Mintrom, 2016, p. 7; Migone & Howlett, 2016). According to Lindblom, especially in complex issues with restricted predictability, status quo is favored, because new resource allocation is difficult, but also because bureaucratic choice situations are often stiff and have no room for creativity (Migone & Howlett, 2016, p. 5). Between the 1950s and 1970s, a debate between researchers relying on the rationalist (also synoptic, utility maximization, subjectively expected utility etc.) or the incrementalist approaches occurred (Migone & Howlett, 2016, p. 10). In the 1970s, scholars were starting to consider the schools, and especially the latent debate, too limited for clarifying what decision-making both is and should be, and deliberated combining the descriptive and the normative (Migone & Howlett, 2016, p. 11). Theoretical alternatives were developed from combinations, but also exploring the insecurities of decision-making, which lead to models such as the garbage can (Migone & Howlett, 2016, p. 11). Within the broader bounded rationality paradigm, the garbage can model stressed the importance of timing and contextuality, and explored the unpredictability in decision-making. Especially because of these features, it is utilized in this work. Decision-making theories have been developed in multiple fields and also empirical knowledge has accumulated. For example in 1974, Tversky and Kahneman conducted psychological tests, contributing to the emerging field of behavioural economics (Frame, 2013, p. 6). Later, Simon s work was utilized also studying (at least seemingly) quick dynamic changes in policies and organizations (Mintrom, 2016, p. 7). Another approach is considering public policy a combination of long constancy and short change interventions, preceded by lobbying; punctuated equilibrium models (Mintrom, 2016, p. 8; Migone & Howlett, 2016, p. 8). In this work, yet another approach is considered. 15

3.3 The Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice The garbage can model of organizational choice (later also GC or GCM) was developed by Cohen, March and Olsen, first presented in 1972. The cooperation of the researchers started in the 60s, and was unusually interdisciplinary at the time (Jann, 2016, p. 2). The cooperation of March and Olsen, essentially in the bounded rationality paradigm, turned out very fruitful for social sciences, especially administrational and organizational but also contributing to other fields, over the following decades (Jann, 2016, p. 2). The GCM is a normative (as opposed to descriptive) behavioral theory of organization, also described a systemic-anarchic perspective of organizational decision-making (Morgan, 2006). The theory considers decision-making central to understanding organizations and their activity, and suggests, that organizational structures and contexts affect decisions and processes greatly. Again following the tradition of Simon, the garbage can theory primarily challenges depictions of decision-making as a traditionally rational, straightforward, cohesive and simple process, where problems are solved. The writers appeal to empirical evidence, at least against the traditionally rational perspective. The garbage can process occurs, when resources and other preconditions of more normal rational models are not met (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 16, 1). The main argument of the GCM is, that organizations (some more often than others) can be burdened with problematic preferences, unclear technologies and fluid participation (Jann, 2016, p. 3). These problems turn decision-making become very unpredictable and sensitive to different factors, such as timing, context, organizational structures and load. There are different ongoing processes within and around organizations, or floating streams, which come together at a time of decision-making. The outcome is the coincidental combination of those constantly changing streams at that time, rather than a comprehensively and rationally designed result solving problems. In the GCM, decisions, problems and solutions are not necessarily linked: a solution might not be based on the original problem, a problem might not get a decision opportunity, or there are decisions without solutions. Organizations are seen as collections of decision situations, problems, solutions and participants, the streams floating around, rather than linear problem solving machines (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). 16

Cohen, March and Olsen created a computer simulation model to explore the theorized process. In economic behavioural theories, and connected to bounded rationality, presenting mathematical fundamentals is central, which may have inspired this coding effort, even though mathematical validation for bounded rationality models has not been discovered (Aliev & Huseynov, 2014, p. 260). The simulation codes the GC ideas, measures of organizational activity and structure with some assumptions, and predicts decision-making. According to the writers, no real organization can fully present the process, making simulation and assumptions necessary (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 18). In reality, the GC may be detected in many organizations at least somewhere or sometimes, but not in all organizations or necessarily all aspects of one (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). 3.3.1 Organized Anarchies The garbage can process occurs in organized anarchies, organizations or decision situations, which have three features: problematic preferences, unclear technology and fluid participation (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). Decision-making in organized anarchies is more complex, fluctuating, unpredictable and sensitive to timing than in classical models (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 18). Firstly, the organization has incompatible and vaguely defined priorities. Action is not based on goals, preferences are formed from action and the organization has loose connections rather than coherence (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). Even if the decision-making were traditionally rational, it would be affected by the ambiguous circumstances. Secondly, participants do not understand processes or the entirety, and trial-and-error-processes are common (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). Thirdly, the participants use different amounts of time and effort, bound by all other things requiring their attention. The decision-makers, as well as the audiences related to the choices but not making them, change inconsistently. This fluid participation creates fluid borders for the decision-making (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). All decision-makers are not focused on the same issue at the same time, especially in large and complex situations. The theory creators claim that features of an organized anarchy are especially present in public, educational and illegitimate organizations and use American universities as their example (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). Public organizations, according to the writers, tend to be large, complex and incoherent (Cohen et al., 1972, p. 1). 17